Building structure



v Aug. 20, 1957 R. w. MILLER 2,803,127

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Poberz W Mi] [er nited States Patent-.0

BUILDING STRUCTURE Robert W. Miller, Waterloo, Iowa Application December 26, 1951, Serial No. 263,240

1 Claim. (Cl. 72-1) This invention relates to a building and the method of making the same wherein certain of the structural elements are prefabricated and certain others are erected at the permanent location of the building.

Although prefabricated building operations have been found to have many industrial advantages such as economy and speed of construction, it has been foundto be very difficult to obtain the requisite sturdiness in the resulting prefabricated structures. The handling of extremely heavy and strong structural frame elements is, of course, quite difficult, as well as dangerous. On the other hand, unless extremely heavy structural elements are used, at least in the basic frame structure of the building, it is ditficult or impossible to obtain a sufiiciently sturdy structure.

It has been common practice for some time to pour concrete building foundations, particularly in the case of small buildings such as garages. It' can be appreciated, of course, that by the use of a poured concrete foundation it is possible to support outside foundation walls. On the other hand, if the particular building is to be of any appreciable size, it is usually necessary to employ a substantial number of additional structural members, such as steel beams, which must be transported to the building location and there cut to the proper size. The final sizes and shapes of the various additional structural elements are usually ascertained after the concrete foundation has been set and taken a permanent forms Such operations, accordingly, can benefit to a very little extent from the use of prefabricated structural elements.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide an improved building structure and an improved method of making the same. I g

It is another object of the invention to. provide an improved building and method of fabrication involving a greatly simplified method for erecting and assembling the basic structural framework.

It is a further object of theinvention to 'providean improved building and method of fabrication wherein the basic strengthening structural elements are so prepared and assembled that a maximum number of prefabricated structural elements may be empolyed in the completion of the building. g

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a basic building structure comprising a preformed integral or monolithic concrete unit, employing concrete joists and girders.

It is yet a further object of the inventionto provide a basic structural unit wherein an essential'portion of the structural support elements also forms a substantial portion of the structural elements employed in hot air heating of the building.

It is still another object of the invention to providea building structure comprising anintegral'or'monolithic concrete unit that comprises a floor,'.cooperating front, back and outside side walls for the structure, and an inside division wall connecting the side walls and defining I} a girder at its top edge, the concrete unit being so formed that it is adapted to receive and support preformed concrete ceiling joists extending across the inside division wall.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a building structure wherein the joist members are formed of concrete and are so arranged in the central portion of the building that they are capable of assisting in the dual function of supporting the building and defining a hot air distributing chamber.

According to the general features of this invention, a building structure is provided wherein there is an integral monolithic concrete unit comprising a floor, cooperating front, back and outside side walls for the building, an inside division wall connecting the side walls, a short inside wall spaced from the division wall and a pair of inside connecting walls cooperating with the short wall and the division wall to define a small centralroom for the building; concrete ceiling joists are also provided so that they may be mounted in notches in the top edges of the front, back and division and short walls so as to be flush with the tops thereof; also, fireproof ceiling panels are provided for mounting upon the ceiling joists; and a false ceiling panel is provided for mounting near the top of the small central room so as to define a hot air chamber near the top of that room, the wall members defining the chamber being suitably apertured for receiving and distributing hot air.

According to another feature of the invention, the Walls of the concrete unit. are arranged so that the preformed concrete ceiling joists and the ceiling panels may each be made of a plurality of units identical in structure.

According to an additional feature of the invention, the essential structural elements employed are fireproof ele merits, and the principal structural elements which afford the main strength to the structure are made from concrete which may be poured into forms at the location of the building.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

On the drawings:

Figure l is a view in perspective of a building embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of an integral or monolithic concrete building structure unit embodying the invention;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a building structure embodying the invention with parts removed and parts broken away;

Figure 4 is an elevational sectional view takensubstantially along the line IVIV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an elevational sectional view taken substantially along the line V--V of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken substantially along the line VIVI of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken substantially along the line VIi-VII of Figure 3;

and

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevational view taken substantially along the line VIII-VIII of Figure 7.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring to Figure l, the reference numeral 10 designates generally a dwelling house, which is a type of building that constitutes a particularly preferred embodiment of the instant invention. The dwelling house 10 has a roof 11 which may be prepared of any suitable roofing structural material. The particular design and construction of the roof 11 is not a part of the instant invention and any suitable material may be used.

The house 10 has a concrete floor, designated generally at 12, which comprises a concrete slab which has been poured upon a suitable foundation material, such as crushed rock. When the forms are set up for the pouring of the concrete floor, the forms are also set up for the pouring of certain of the walls of the house so that they may be integral with the floor. In architectural 'ter'minology, such an integral floor and wall structure is rnonolithic, i. e., made of one stone or by means of a one concrete pouring so as to obtain a structure wherein the concrete is integral. Such a structure may and preferably does contain suitable particulate filler materials, such as finely crushed rock and gravel, and suitable reinforcing materials, such as steel wires and the like, embedded in the monolithic concrete matrix.

Referring to Figure 2, wherein there'is shown in detail the wall portions of the monolithic integral concrete unit, which are poured and set at the same time and inthe same form structure wherein the concrete floor 12 is poured and set. It can be seen that the outside walls of the house form a generally rectangular shape. The front wall 13 and the back wall 14 extend vertically from the floor 12 in parallel spaced planes to approximately the height of one story of a dwelling house. The front and back walls 13 and i4 cooperate with side walls 15 and 16 to complete the generally rectangular shape of the dwelling house. The side walls 15 and 16 are also walls which extend vertically up from the floor 12 in substantially parallel spaced planes to substantially the height of the front and back walls 13 and 14. The front, back and outside side walls 13, 1 15 and 16 thus cooperate with the floor 12. to form an integral concrete unit defining the outside dimensions of the first story of the dwelling house 10.

It will, of course, be appreciated that in setting up the forms of each of the aforementioned outside walls of the dwelling house allowance is made in the forms for each of the various apertures that may be desired in the walls. For example, in setting up the form for the front wall 13 a window frame, such as at 17 in Figure 1, would be roperly positioned in the form so that the poured and set concrete would suitably anchor a portion of the frame permitting the necessary functioning of other portions of the window attached thereto. In like manner provision is made for the suitable anchoring of door frames. The manner in which such window and door frames may be positioned in concrete pouring forms so that the poured and set concrete anchors the necessary portion of such frame is well known in the art. Such a procedure need not be discussed further herein and mentioned merely to point out that by the use of such frame structures uniform prefabricated windows and doors may be installed in the building.

it should also. pointed out that in the practice of the present invention, it is usually advantageous to so arrange the concrete pouring form for the concrete floor 12 so that at least some opening is left in the floor for the introduction of the necessary piping and the like connected to underground pipe sources. For example, in the practice of the instant invention it might be desirable to set the form so that an area such as that designated by the reference numeral 18 would not be covered by the concrete slab defining the floor, until the water and gas lines had been properly tied in. The subsequent pouring of a small amount of concrete slab does not present any particularly ditficult problem and it can be accomplished at the time the concrete was being poured for a porch or sidewalk for the house.

As can be seen from Figure 2, a division Wall 19, dividing the house in two, extends parallel to and midway between the front and back walls 13 and 14 and connects the side walls 15 and 16. A short inside wall 24? positioned near the central portion of the division wall 1.9 extends vertically in a plane spaced from and parallel to the vertically extending plane of the division Wall 19. A pair of parallel connecting inside walls 21 and 22 conmeet the opposite end of the short wall 20 to the correspending central portion of the division Wall 19 so as to define a rectangularly-shap'ed, centrally located inside room 23 in the house 10.

Equally spaced notches or grooves 24 are formed in the division wall 19. Notches 25 are formed in the short wall 2t aligned with the notches 24 in the division wall 19. Also aligned with the notches 24 in the division wall 19 are notches 26 and 27 in the front and back walls 13 and 14, respectively. As can be seen, the notches 24 and 25 extend the full width of the walls 19 and 29, respectively, whereas the notches 26 and 27 are formed only on the inside of the front and back walls 13 and 14 and do not extend to the outside, for the sake of appearance.

The particular alignment of the notches is shown, for example, in the case of the four walls 13, 14, 19 and 20 by the notches designated 24d, 25d, 26d and 27d. The alignment of the notches in the case of the three walls 13, 14 and 19 is shown, for example, by the grooves designated 24a, 26a and 27a, and by the grooves desig nated 24b, 26b and 27b.

Each of the outside walls -13, 1'4, 15 and 16 has an insideshoulder 13a, 14-11, 15a and 16a, respectively, which shoulder is formed just below the top edge running along the entire length on the inside of the wall. The shoulders thus merge at the wall intersections to form a rectangularly shaped figure lying in a horizontal plane. The top outside edges of each of the outside walls 13, 14, 15 and 16 extend upwardly above that plane and the top edges of each ofthe inside walls l9, 2%) and 21 are flush with that plane.

Theshoulders 13a and Lida are so formed that the distances between the shoulders 13a and 14a and the center of the division wall 19 are equal, such distances being designated x and y in Figure 2. The grooves 15a and 16a are so formed in the side walls 15 and 1.6 that the distance between the shoulder 15a, for example, and the aligned notches 24a, 26a and 27a is equal to the distances between each pair of the equally spaced notches in the walls 13, 14, 19 and 20, such distances being represented in Figure 2 by the reference letters a, b, c and d.

Also, a plurality of vertically extending grooves 28 are formed in the walls at the various places in the inside of the house. The grooves 28 are so aligned on opposite wall faces that they may receive prefabricated wall partitions in a manner to be described hereinafter.

In the step of vpouring and setting the concrete, the forms are so'set up that an integral or monolithic concrete unit substantially as shown in Figure 2, may be poured and set. Suitable reinforcing wires or the like may be included within the concrete matrix, of course, but thebasic concept involves the pouring of one integral structural unit which, first of all, furnishes all the basic support for the building structure and which, seeondly, furnishes as much as is industrially practicable of the other structural elements such as the various walls. The forms are so designed that the various wall heights and shapes may be obtained in a single pouring operation.

Referring to Figure 3, wherein additional structural members are shown in assembled position, it can be seen that ceiling joists 29 are received and supported by the walls 13, 14, 19 and 20. The joists 29 are suitably positioned in the notches of the walls; for example, the ceiling joist 29a rests in the aligned notches 24a, 26a and 27a. As can be seen in Figure 4, for example, the ceiling joists 29 have a trapezoidal cross scction being slightly wider at the top than at the bottom. The notches have a correspondingly similar shape to suitably receive and retain the entire height of the ceiling joists 29 so that the top surface of each joist will be flush with the topsurface of the inner walls 19, 20 and 21 and the shoulders 13a, 14a, 15'a and 16a.

It should also be noted that the top surface of the inner connecting 'wall 22 is flush with the bottom surface of the notches 24 and 25 aligned with the wall 22.

Such an arrangement is, of course, necessary in the structure shown in order to permit to proper positioning of the ceiling joist designated by the reference numeral 29], but that arrangement also has the advantage of affording additional support longitudinally of the joist 29 It will be appreciated that, if desired, the connecting wall 22 may be so positioned out of alignment with the notches that its structure is symmetrical to that of the connecting Wall 21 and that its top surface is flush with the top surface of the other inside walls.

At the same time the basic structure of Figure 2 is poured and set, the necessary number of ceiling joists 29 are also poured and set, separately. The forms for the ceiling joists 29, each of which is an integral or monolithic unit of the same size and shape, are set up at the building location. The concrete ceiling joists 29 are, of course, quite heavy and diflicult to transport so that it is advisable to form such joists at the building location. .Only the single handling step of moving each joist 29 from the form in which it is set to the desired row of aligned notches is then required. I

The division wall 19 serves also as a main beam or girder for the building structure, and it supports the middle of each of the ceiling joists 29. hits capacity as a girder, the division wall 19 is much superior to theordinary steel or wooden beam which is used in most structures of similar size. The division wall 19 is a source of extremely great strength, since it forms a substantially .solid integral concrete body rising from'the floor 12 to the girder height. It is not subject to any deflection. Because of its great strength, the divisional wall 19 makes possible the use of preformed concrete ceiling joists which, although extremely heavy, may be used to advantage herein because they may be formed at the building location.

Another advantage of the instant invention resides in the cooperation between the division wall 19 and the ceiling joists 29 whereby the great supporting strength of the division wall 19 permits the use of ceiling joists 29 having top surface areas of substantial width so as to be able to support large ceiling panels 30 without the necessity of employing panels of extremely accurate dimensions. In other words, each of the panels 30 needs only to cover the rectangular open area bounded by a pairof ceiling joists 29, the divisional wall 19 and the front wall 13 or the back wall 14. A snug edge-to-edge fit of a pair of adjacent panels 30 is not necessary in order to form a good seal.

Each of the ceiling panels 30 is preferably a rectangular rigid piece of asbestos board, which is a fireproof material having good acoustical as well as insulating properties. The ceiling panels 30 may be made of other materials, of course, but one of the principal advantages of the instant invention is based upon the fact that the essential structural materials may all be fireproof. The panels 30 are all cut to substantially the same size, having a length of substantially the dimension designated by the reference letters x or y in Figure 2 and a width of substantially the dimension designated by the reference letters a, b or c. It so happens that great strength and rigidity of the concrete support members in the instant building structure make possible a comparatively accurate preforming of the ceiling panels 30 so that theparticular desired fit therebetweenmay be obtained ordinarily. The top surface of each of the ceiling joists 29 may thus be used best to support caulking or Weatherstripping means between adjacent edges of the panels 30, if'such is desired.

In the assembly of the instant dwelling house 10, the monolithic structure of Figure 2 is poured and set and, in an adjacent area preferably, the ceiling joists 29 are also poured and set. After the forms have been removed from the setmonolithic building structure, various prefabricated elements may be positioned in the structure.

For example, referring particularly to Figures 3, 4 and 5, in the rear left hand side of the structure a partition wall 31 is slid into the vertically extending grooves 28 on the opposite faces of the division wall 19 and the back wall 14. The partition wall 31 has shelves 32 formed on opposite sides thereof, and it may of course, have the various additional attachments thereto. The partition wall 31 is preferably made of the same asbestos board material which is employed in the prefabrication of the panels 30. Also, it should be noted that the portion of the partition wall 31 lying directly underneath the ceiling joists designated by the reference numeral 29b extends vertically from the floor 12 to the lower edge of the ceiling joists 29b, and the remaining portion of the partition wall. 31 extends vertically from the floor 12 adjacent the division wall 19 up to the full height of the division wall 19 so as to be adapted to contact the bottom surface of a ceiling panel 30 placed in that particular location. 7

The partition wall 31 separates the kitchen 33 from a utility room 34, and the partition wall 31 is preferably provided. with a doorway (not shown) on the side of the wall 31 opposite the shelves 32, so as to afford a passageway between the kitchen 33 and the utility room 34. The kitchen 33 is also provided with a prefabricated cabinet member 35 which may be suitably attached to frame members (not shown) imbedded in the integral concrete matrix .of the building structure, in the manner hereinbefore described. As can best be seen in Figure 4, the division wall 19 is suitably apertured, as designated by the arrow and the reference numeral 36, so as to afford a passageway leading out of the kitchen toward the front of the house, and a combination table and cabinet 37 is suitably positioned against the side wall 15 in a portion of the apertured region 36 of the division wall 19.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the particular design of the partition wall shelves 32, the wall cabinet 35 and the combination table and cabinet 37 is in each case essentially a matter of choice. Likewise, the manner in which each of such structures is incorporated in the building structure is essentially a matter of choice. The partition wall 31 is itself installed in the mannerdescribed hereinbefore in accordance with the principles of the invention; and the other structural members are preferably affixed to frame members which were so positioned in the concrete forms that a portion thereof was imbedded in the integral concrete matrix of the building structure.

The utility room 34 is provided with a hot water heater 3S and a hot air heater 39. The manner in which the hot air heater 39 is connected up will be described later in detail.

Two short partition walls 40 and 41 are suitably positioned between the back wall 14 and the short inside wall 21), in suitably positioned vertically extending grooves 28, in the manner described in connection with the partition wall 31. The walls 40 and 41, in cooperation with the back wall 14 and the short inside wall 20 define the walls of the bathroom 42. The bathroom 42 has suitably arranged therein a washbasin 43, a stool 44 and a bathtub 45. As shown herein the washbasin 43, the stool 44 and the bathtub 45 are each adjacent the short partition wall 40, and the necessary piping and mounting fiixtures for each may, therefore, be suitably embodied in the partition wall 40 during its prefabrication.

The short partition wall 40 separates the bathroom 42 from the utility room 34, and the short partition wall 41 separates the bathroom from a rear bedroom 46. Another partition wall 47 extending between the outside wall 16 and the inside connecting wall 22, positioned in grooves 28 in the manner hereinbefore described, separates the rear bedroom 46 from a front bedroom 48. The partition wall 47 comprises twin closets, one facing the rear bedroom 46 andone facing the front bedroom 48.

4' Still another partition wall 49 separates the front, bedroom 48 from a living room 50.

Although each of the partition walls 31, 40, 41, 47 and 49 might be suitably apertured to define doorways, and the partition wall 31 is so apertured as shown, the embodiment of the dwelling house shown herein is so arranged that a minimum number of the partition walls must be so designed. It is apparent that the additional feature of a door in a partition wall has a tendency to complicate the prefabrication of such a wall. In contrast, fixed non-movable structural elements, such as closets, piping fixtures or shelves may well be embodied in the prefabrication of partition walls so as to'greatly simplify the subsequent assembly of the entire dwelling house. Each of the instant partition walls is positioned in the building structure by the use of the vertically extending grooves 28 properly positioned in the various concrete walls. Instead of embodying door frames in the partition walls, it has been found that it is much more desirable to set up the forms for the pouring and setting of the basic integral concrete structure so that suitably arranged door frames will be imbedded therein in the necessary manner. Accordingly, the inside walls of the small central room 23 have been suitably provided with the necessary door frames, imbedded in the 2% for communication between the central room 23 and 5 the rear bedroom 46.

Referring to Figure 4, it can be seen that a door frame 53 is provided in the division wall 19 for communication between the central room 23 and the living room 5%. Also, a door frame 54 is provided in the division wall 19 for communication between the central room 23 and the front bedroom 48.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, a false ceiling panel 55 rests on shoulders 19a, 20a, 21a and 22a formed respectively in the walls 19, 20, 21, and 22. The false ceiling panel 55 may be made of any suitable fireproof material, such as asbestos board, or it may be a piece of suitably formed heavy sheet metal as shown having a turned up flange-like edge to facilitate installation thereof.

The hot air chamber 56 is thus defined by suitable fireproof material and is so formed from the various struc tural materials that the use of elaborate sheet metal or joist work in the building is avoided. Instead, the chamber 56 is formed between spaced ceiling panel members and suitably positioned with respect to the joist work of the structure.

it will be appreciated that, in building terminology, the top girder portion 19b of the division wall 19 and the corresponding notched beam portion 20b of the inner wall 20 extending above the shoulder 26a function as binding joists for receiving and supporting the ceiiing joists 2%, 296 and 29f, which might also be called bridging joists. Also, the top portion 21b above the shoulder 21a of the connecting wall 21 and the corresponding top portion 22b of the wall 22 act as trimming joists into which are framed the ends of the binding joist portion 23b and the corresponding binding joist portion 1%.

Accordingly, the hot air distributor or chamber 56 is formed by a pair of spaced trimming joist members 21b and 22. 2, a pair of spaced binding joist members 19b and 20b framed thereinto to define a generally rectangular monolithic concrete frame having monolithic concrete P? as supporting walls, a fireproof false ceiling panel 55, fireproof ceiling panels 30 resting on top of the aforementioned joist members, and concrete bridging joists 29 supported at notches in the binding joist members 1% and 20b, the bridging joists 29 having the dual function of bafiies for air flow and supports for the ceiling panels 30. It will be noted that the binding joist members 1911 and 20b are suitably apertured as at 57, so that one aperture 57 affords hot air communication between the chamber 56 and the bathroom 42, one affords communication between the chamber 56 and the bedroom 46, one affords communication between the bedroom 43 and the chamber 56 and a fourth affords communication between the chamber 56 and the living room 5%). The trimming joist member 21b is also suitably apertured so as to afford communication for receiving hot air from the hot air heater 39 through a hot air duct 53, then through the aperture 59 in the trimming joist 21b into the chamber 56. Referring to Figure 8, the hot airduct 58 has a flanged portion 60 adjoining and flush with the utility room side of the trimming joist 21b. The flanged portion 60 of the duct 58 is suitably apertured to receive threaded bolts 61 which are positioned surroundingly of the aperture 59 and partially imbedded in the trimming joist 21b. The flanged portion of) of the duct 58 is thus secured to the trimming joist 21b by the clamping force afforded by tightening nuts 62 upon threaded portions of partially imbeded bolts 61. As hereinbefore mentioned, the threaded bolts 61 are suitably positioned in the original concrete pouring form so that they, like the various door frame and window frame members, may be suitably imbedded in the concrete matrix.

It can thus be seen that the only duct work necessary in the hot air distributing system is the duct 58. The remainder of the system, including air flow baflies therein, is defined by structural members serving also in the additional capacity of ceiling members and/or supporting members.

Another advantageous feature of the invention resides in the fact that the ceiling joists 29 may be poured in forms so as to provide metal retaining means or loops 63 suitably imbedded in the top surface thereof and aligned with the central longitudinal axes thereof. Such loops 63 may be used in the lifting of the joists 29 into place and then may be bent over, as shown only at the right hand side of Figure 3, on top of properly positioned ceilin g panels 30 to securely hold the same in place.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

In a building structure, a monolithic concrete unit comprising a floor, cooperating front, back, and side outside walls for said structure, an inside division wall connecting the side walls, a short inside wall spaced from said division wall and a pair of inside connecting walls cooperating with said short wall and said division wall to define a small central room for said structure; concrete ceiling joists mounted in notches in and flush with the tops of said front, back, division and short walls; a rigid fireproof false ceiling panel mounted on the walls defining the central room near the top thereof; and rigid fireproof ceiling panels mounted on said ceiling joists, said ceiling panels and said false ceiling panel defining in -cooperation with said short, division and connecting walls a hot air chamber near the top of said central room, one of said connecting walls being apertured to receive hot air into said chamber and said short wall and said division wa-ll being apertured to afford air ports from said chamber to the remaining space enclosed by said outside walls.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Broughton Dec. 31, 1912 Herbrick Oct. 25, 1921 5 Eiserloh May 6, 1930 Wooldridge Oct. 27, 1936 P'essagno et a1. Nov. 16, 1937 Coe Feb. 8, 1938 Schmeller May 9, 1939 10 Cowderoy-Dale Ian. 30, 1940 10 Turner Nov. 24, 1942 Kandall Nov. 13, 1945 Call'an Mar. 6, 1951 C-allan Apr. 29, 1952 Rumble May 27, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS France of 1921 France of 1930 Great Britain of 1941 France of 1947 

